Agnew Meadows Group Camp sits at 8,400 feet in the Reds Meadow Valley, designed for groups who want to tackle the Ansel Adams Wilderness together. This is base camp territory for serious Sierra hiking, with trailheads to the Pacific Crest Trail and High Country lakes within shuttle distance.
Campground Details
- ⛺Type
- Group
- 💵Fee per Night
- Free
- 📍GPS
- 37.68309, -119.08952
- 🐾Pets Allowed
- No
- 🗺️Address
- CA
The Camp
The group sites accommodate 10 or 20 people each, tucked into a lodgepole pine forest with high peaks all around. You're camping next to creeks and a small lake, adjacent to the main Agnew Meadows Campground and Horse Camp. The setting delivers what you'd expect at this elevation — wildflower displays in spring and early summer, with the Sierra granite rising above the treeline.
Wildlife moves through regularly: black bear, mountain lions, mule deer, plus the smaller mountain residents like pine marten and pika. Standard Sierra bear protocols apply.
Access and Timing
The road in is narrow and single-lane, summer-only access. Once your reservation starts, modifications aren't possible through Recreation.gov or the campground manager, so nail down your dates beforehand.
Hikers heading to wilderness trailheads need to ride the shuttle system — this isn't walk-up-and-go territory. The High Trail, Shadow Creek Trail, and River Trail are all within a few miles, open to both hiking and horseback riding.
Nearby
Devils Postpile National Monument and its volcanic columns are a short trip, along with Rainbow Falls trailhead near Reds Meadow. The pack station down the road handles horseback tours and supplies if your group wants to explore on four legs instead of two.
Fishing runs to trout in area lakes and the North Fork of the San Joaquin River. Reds Meadow Resort has a general store and cafe for resupply runs.
The Ansel Adams Wilderness boundary is right here, making this one of the closer camps to serious backcountry access in the eastern Sierra.